Ashes to Ashes
by X2117
Summary: The sequel to the Legend of Roland... Taking place approximately six months after the events at the end of Legend of Roland, Korra and Roland are thrown into a new fight involving friends and enemies from the stars. Rated T for violence.
1. Chapter 1

**Ashes to Ashes: **_**Well, as promised (And in some ways forced) , here is a sequel to The Legend of Roland. If you haven't read LoR, yet, I would highly encourage you to do so before starting this. s/9852979/1/The-Safety-of-the-Dark This book is going to be coming out a lot slower than my last one, but I hope to have it done before next semester.**_

_**Avatar the Legend of Korra and the Halo universe are copyrighted by their owners. I own nothing except the idea to put them together…**_

**Chapter One – September 2552 **

**Former UNSC Cruiser Iliad **

"Cap'n, got at least three dozen Covie ships coming out of slipspace." A young helmsmen spoke to his captain with concern. Their raiding party of fifteen frigates and one cruiser would be no match against Covenant Carriers and Cruisers.

The Captain monitored his display with concern. "Have they noticed us?" He asked.

A fair looking woman spoke from his left. Jordan Kyles manned the electronics for the bridge. "They have us pinged sir. Two Cruisers are breaking off and headed this way." She tapped on her counsel furiously. "Plasma lines are charging Captain…" She gulped with concern.

Captain wasn't a good term for Ethan Streks. He was a middle aged man with a greying hairline. Never married due to his life style and the man was not a member of the UNSC, but instead was an Insurrectionist. His fleet had been preparing to raid the UNSC facilities on Coral, and ten minutes later, they would have been in a full assault. Now Streks watched as plasma lit up the darkness of space, completely obliterating the trio of UNSC ships on station.

Streks pirate like life style told him that this wasn't his fight at all. Let the sharks have their prey, he could come back later for the remains. "Helmsman, prepare a slipspace jump to get us out of here and have the fleet follow."

The young man turned to face his leader. "Sir, the A.I. is off line for maintenance. We could all be killed!"

"Did I ask for your backtalk?" Streks hissed. "Punch in the numbers and get us out of here or we're all fried."

"Something fired!" Jordan cried. Her terminal flickered, but nothing seemed to happen. Suddenly, it picked up incoming plasma. "One, no two torpedoes inbound!"

"Anyday now!" The Captain shouted, pushing the odd electrical occurrence out of his mind.

The young helmsman closed his eyes as he punched the random vector into the slipspace drive. He cracked his eyes and saw the fierce plasma starting to fill the view screen as his stomach lurched into his throat from the acceleration. He screwed his eyes shut and held them for several moments.

"Good. Now hopefully they won't follow us." Streks relaxed back in his chair. His ships had the firepower and manpower of a UNSC assault group, but he had no glory to earn by fighting the Covenant. "Kyles, wake me when we are preparing for reentry." Streks said as he stood.

"Yes sir." She nodded.

The Captain left the bridge and wandered through his vessel. He kept the ships clean and almost too military regulation, but that was for discipline more than anything else. Rabble didn't fight well. As he entered his cabin, his first mate awaited him in full battle gear.

"So, no run?" The burly bald man asked.

Streks shook his head. "Too many Covenant, Carr. We'll stay low for a bit, then go back and check it out."

The man nodded. "Want me to take the bridge?"

Streks stretched and nodded as Carr turned to leave. "Wait, one thing. Any news about those thirty helljumpers? They willing to fight for us yet?"

Carr shook his head. "We have tried everything, but they are to set in their ways."

"We may be finished with them soon then." Streks sat down as his desk and removed a bottle of Vodka from the bottom drawer.

"We also had a man stealing rations." Carr added.

Streks raised his eyebrow in question. "One of our own?"

"Yeah, one of the newer guys."

"Flush him. Make him an example to the others." He took a swig from the bottle. "Have those Shock Troopers watch to. Maybe that'll help lighten their mood." Streks ran a dictatorship aboard his ships. Each Captain was hand selected and reported only to him. The slightest hint of disloyalty and entire parts of the crew might be eliminated. Not a pleasant sight, but it was how things worked.

Carr nodded and left the room, leaving Streks to his thoughts. In the hold of his ship, he held thirty ODST shock troopers. These men had been his prisoners for nearly a week now. They had assaulted his ship with nearly twenty more, but his men and the electric defenses dropped them. The others had been killed or left for dead, but these thirty could be of great use, if he could just get them to realize the UNSC was the bad guy here. Finally, he dozed in his chair dreaming of how great it would be to rule a world of his very own instead of relying on the scraps of others.

**Avatar World **

Roland's eyes cracked open underneath the dozens of blankets to see the pale whiteness of the inside of an igloo. He shivered slightly and wrapped himself tighter, quietly cursing the cold and the woman who dragged him here. If the Spartan III had one thing he despised, it was cold, and the South Pole had plenty of it.

Now mind you, Roland had been here once before, but there had been more pressing matters on his mind, such as Korra's lack of bending, her suicidal behavior, and a jealous guard that had occupied his thoughts, now all he could do was shiver.

"Are you awake yet?" Korra asked from the other side of the room.

The Spartan flopped around a bit until he could manage to roll over and look the other way. Through the crack in the blankets, he observed that she was already dressed and ready to head outside. He could also see the layer of ice forming over his armor in the corner. "You do realize it is somewhere around negative twenty, don't you?" Roland voice sounded muffled through the covers.

Korra could only laugh at his pathetic state. "What's a matter?" She teased. "Big bad Spartan scared of the cold?"

Roland didn't even twitch. "I don't care if it is the Glacier Spirits Festival or if we are getting married in two days, it is bloody cold and I am warm in here."

"Common…" Korra whined, "this is the last day we can go have fun before the craziness of our wedding." Roland just laid there looking at her. "If you don't get up, I'm going to take the blankets off you."

Roland shrugged. "Or you could just heat the room a bit. Anywhere above freezing would be preferable."

Korra smirked and took a bending stance. "Last chance."

Roland released the blankets slightly. Korra was only about three feet away so, he lunged for her.

"Roland!" Korra shrieked as the Spartan landed on her and wrapped her up in the blankets with himself. "It is time to go." She laughed, wrapping her arms around him.

"Hmmpf." Roland glanced at his armor again. "Could you at least warm up my suit?"

Korra looked at the ice layer atop the armored plates. "You don't need to wear that. I have some Water Tribe skins that will be warmer." She jumped up and grabbed the clothes from a box near the entrance.

Roland finally shrugged off the blankets and stood up in the freezing air. "Fine."

"Hurry up, or I am leaving you." Korra reminded him.

Roland leaned over to kiss her. "Nah, I'd have to go find someone else then." He said with a grin.

"Yeah right…" Korra coughed. "No one else would come near you."

Roland stood up. "With this body and my charming smile?" He chuckled as he finished getting dressed. "I'd have them lining up at the door."

"Uh huh… the exit door." Korra rolled her eyes. "Ready yet?"

"Yeah…" Roland stretched and slid on his boots. "So what are we doing exactly?

Korra grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door. The entire festival was below them, stretching across the entire village. The smell of different foods wafted through the freezing air. Different games and events were everywhere and Korra looked like a six year old. "We are going to have fun." She smiled as she took off down the slope.

"Yeah… fun freezing our extremities off." Roland muttered as he took off after her.

**Former UNSC Cruiser Iliad**

"Captain, we have entered real space." Officer Kyles said from the hatch.

Streks straightened up at his desk. "Thank you. Any nearby planets?"

Kyles tapped away at her tablet. "Yes sir, there is as small system with three planets only a few thousand kilometers away."

Streks raised his eyebrow in question. "Habitable?"

Another moment of tapping. "It seems the second planet has earth like atmosphere. We will need to get closer for more scans."

Streks nodded. "Very well, set your course for this planet. Any sign of it on the charts?"

"No sir, we are outside of all known space."

"Perfect. Signal the other ships, we may have found a haven."

Kyles nodded and walked back to the bridge. Streks on the other hand stood and walked towards the hold of the ship. He passed several of his armed men before entering a small bay that had been repurposed as a prison hold. "Look lively lads, got our captor here for another visit." A large ODST sat looking out of the bars. He was stripped to his undersuit along with all of the others, but still held a very intimidating look with his rippling muscles.

Sneers came from the cage of "Get away innie boy" and "Go screw someone else." But Streks chose to ignore it. "I offer once more the ability to join my crew." He said loudly. "You will simply be split apart across the fleet and treated as individuals. You will be allowed to live and fight alongside the crew and earn a keep for yourselves. All you have to do is renounce your loyalty to the UNSC and agree to serve with us."

The roar coming back from the ODST's was deafening, but not surprising. Someone however shouted a simply command of "AT EASE!" And the noise halted instantly.

One of the men walked forward until Streks could get a good look at him. The man seemed to be in his early thirties. Fit, but not like some of the others and was only about six foot two or so. Not the most physically imposing of the group, but Streks didn't know who he was. His shirt was removed, and his eye caught on the rectangular tattoo on his right arm. The colors were a simple red, white and blue and seemed familiar, but Streks pushed the thought aside. "What can I do for you?" He asked.

The man cleared his throat. "I am Captain Wayne, of the UNSC. Platoon leader in Bravo Company 2nd Shock Trooper Battalion, and leader of these men." His voice had a subtle southern accent, but when he spoke, it command respect. "We have talked it over, and request you either kill us, or drop us on the nearest moon you can find, because we are never going to fight for you."

Streks shrugged. "Very well, you will be transferred to the Tampa and dumped out of their airlock so I can watch each of you turn into ice cubes." He looked across all of the faces he could see of these grizzled veterans. "Any last requests?"

A man next to the Captain spoke. "Our armor." This man had "_Feet First into Hell" _tattooed down his arm. "If I am doing one more jump, I want to be in my kit."

Streks thought for a moment. He knew their armor wasn't sealed, so what harm could it cause. "Very well, you may have your armor returned."

With that, Streks left the room to arrange for the transfer. The man who last spoke grinned wildly and looked at his Captain. "We might just do this, sir."

Captain Wayne nodded. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Sergeant, but yes, we might." Wayne looked around for his senior enlisted man. "Grylls, get over here, and bring Wells." He hissed loudly.

The two ODST's worked their way towards the Captain. Gunnery Sergeant Grylls was a season veteran of fighting both the Covenant and the Insurrectionists and was a more than capable leader in combat. Sergeant Wells on the other hand was still pretty green. She had a few drops under her belt, be Wayne still wasn't sure how she would perform as a leader. However, she had some experience with electronics which could be invaluable.

Wayne looked at the two NCO's. "Wells, you need to talk to everyone. Find out if anyone else has any skills involving conning a ship. We'll need someone to take over. Grylls, you get our best marksmen. As soon as we start to fight back, find them weapons and roll through. Give me five of them and take the rest to secure the engine room. Once we take the helm, we'll get the hell out of here."

"Talk about a break, huh sir?" Grylls chuckled. "Sending us to one of the frigates instead. Gonna be a good day."

"It should be." Wayne smiled. "Hope you both ate your Wheaties, cause we're getting the heck off this ship."

_**Well, I know it was short, but I hope you like the first chapter. I'd like to thank everyone for the reviews on The Legend of Roland and The Safety of the Dark. Y'all are the reason I'm writing this. For the ones who have been with me for awhile, I'd love to hear any ideas you have for this next book. Like I said in the header, this s not going to be updated nearly as much as my first one was. I hope to update once a week or so, but I can't even promise that. Please review and let me know what you think! **_


	2. Chapter 2

**This is still not my property. Halo is owned by Microsoft, Avatar is owned by Nickelodeon. All I own is a Jeep. **

**Chapter Two **

**Former UNSC Iliad**

"Alright, all of ya, on your feet." One of the insurrectionists hissed as he leveled his MA5B on the group of ODST's. "You so much as flinch, and I'll hose the lot of you."

One of the ODST's smirked. "Ah, common, you know we're bullet proof."

"I'd like to test that theory." The man spat as the door was opened. The thirty ODST's were moved through the corridors under armed guard towards the airlock. A few minutes before, Captain Wayne had felt the shudder vibrate through the deck of the Frigate _Tampa _as she docked with the _Iliad. _

"Sir, I have news!" A woman spoke to Captain Streks as the ODST's were ushered past him. Wayne heard a snippet of the conversation.

"What is it?" Streks asked, his eyes never leaving the Shock Troopers before him.

"The planet below is inhabited with humans! From everything I can see, they have technology from before the 20th century!"

Wayne strained to hear more, but he was already being forced out of earshot. A backup plan was quickly formulated in his mind and stored away for if it was needed. He felt the floor give slightly as he crossed the airlock and into the next ship. The men aboard seemed much harsher and looked at the ODST's as if they we're ready to massacre them.

The thirty troopers were ushered into a room and surrounded by armed guards as their armor has returned. It took a few minutes for all of the troopers to find their armor and put it on. Wayne caught the eye of Grylls and nodded slightly. It was almost time. The _Tampa _shuddered as it separated from the _Iliad _to come off her bow slightly as the ODST's were forced into a hanger bay. Streks was a man of theater, and he figured this would show his men exactly what happens when people don't accept his mercy. Unfortunately, it was about to be a stage in his downfall.

Wayne could tell that it was almost time to act. He noticed there were no guards in the hanger area and only five of his men were in there so far, so he acted quickly. He leaned forward to the man in front of him and whispered "Trust me." As he shoved the corporal out of line.

The young man had a look of confusion for a moment before he realized what he was supposed to do. "AGH!" The Corporal cried as he grasped his stomach as if he was sick.

"What's a matter with you?" One of the guards came up and kicked him to motivate him.

"My stomach!" The young man cried.

Grylls didn't miss a beat. "I'm a Corpsman!" He said gruffly as he stepped out of line and walked forward.

"Get back in line!" One of the guards shouted.

"No." Grylls knelt next to the corporal. "Where does it hurt?" He asked as if he knew what he was doing.

"Everywhere!" The corporal was playing it off terribly well for adlibbing.

The guards were getting restless. "Get em back in line." A guard said as he pressed his barrel into Grylls neck.

"No, I think he might have a whooping stomach disease. It could be contagious."

The guard took a step back and covered his mouth just before the Corporal coughed in his direction. "What can you do for him?" The guard seemed to be rethinking his location on the ship.

"Let me see that." Grylls pointed to a metal pipe. The guard actually reached for it and handed it to him in the hope that this "Corpsman" could do resolve the situation. Wayne looked around and noted that there were only about a dozen guards around the room and they all had their attention on Grylls and the Corporal.

"What are you going to use it for?" The guard asked cluelessly.

"I want something for him to squeeze. It helps with the pain." Grylls handed the foot long pipe to the corporal. "The medical term is a lateral cranial impact enhancer." At that time, the Shock Troopers tensed for a fight.

The guard nodded. "Yeah, I think I have heard of those." Grylls smirked as the corporal lunged up and smacked the steel pipe into the man's head, shattering the skull and causing his rifle to fall into the Gunny's hand.

"Hit 'em!" Wayne cried as he threw his shoulder into the nearest insurrectionist, knocking him to the ground. One of his men smashed his foot into the man's throat as gunfire started up behind them.

Grylls managed to drop two of the guards before they could react. Several of the Troopers managed to kill six more and recover their weapons as the other insurrectionists fled the room. "Alright, get your weapons and follow me!" Grylls shouted. Ten ODST's had grabbed MA5B's or pistols and stacked up at the door with him.

"I'll get the door." Wells said as she took a spot next to the console control. The two ODST's who had a general idea of flying stuck with her. Blood was already pooling from the dead and injured insurrectionists. Wayne figured there couldn't be more than a hundred on this ship. If all of his men could get to weapons, he really like the odds.

"Remember people. We push hard and fast. Grab weapons where you see them and let's get the hell out of here." Wayne nodded to Wells and the door sighed open.

Gunfire spewed in, but did nothing because everyone was out of the line of fire. As soon as there was a lull, Grylls slid around the corner firing. The other men followed and quickly overwhelmed the five insurrectionists outside the door with their immediate violence of action. The men were struck in the chest and head, collapsing where they knelt, half empty weapons scattered across the floor. Alarm klaxons blared and red lights flashed as Grylls and the others secured the section quickly. Several more troopers secured weapons and looked to Captain Wayne for orders.

"You know your stations." Grylls nodded and turned towards the engine room with his shooters. "Stay in touch." Wayne shouted after them as he engaged his helmets communication system.

"Ready, sir?" Wells asked as she stood by with her men. Nearly twenty ODST's looked to Wayne for orders. Only a few were armed, but these men were ready to follow him into oblivion.

The ODST looked to the bulkhead and saw the simply sign pointing to the bridge. "This way." He said simply as the troopers moved towards their next fight.

John followed the signs, usually leading with his M6D as he went around a corner. The pistol felt strange in his hand and he glanced longingly at the empty holster on his hip. It was designed for a much slimmer pistol, but it was by far his favorite. Back in the 21st century, his family had been in the firearms manufacturing business. The United States Marine Corps had placed a large order for M45 Close Quarter Battle Pistols that was based of the Colt 1911, and his great, great, great, great grandfather had been a young recruit then and in the years later amassed a collection of a dozen of them. They had been passed down from generation to generation, and now he owned two of them. The nearly five hundred year old pistols still served him greatly, but now he might have lost one.

The two guards outside of the bridge access way were killed without incident and Captain Wayne prepared to breach the room. A quick nod from the trooper across from him, and the door slid open. In a flash, the ODST's rushed into the room. Those with weapons shot every one of the insurrectionists inside as Wells and her two men moved to the control stations.

"Sir, the engines are ours already." Wells said as she looked over the control counsel.

"Good, Grylls got it done." Wayne looked out the viewscreen and saw the _Iliad_ just off their 11 o'clock. "Prepare to jump for Earth." His knuckles were white under his black gloves. The _Illiad _was turning their direction, likely preparing to blow them to pieces.

Wells typed furiously on her counsel. "Sir, this ship doesn't have the codes. I think they are all kept aboard the flag ship and sent to the fleet just before a jump."

Wayne racked his mind for a plan and quickly decided on the best course to take.

"Stand by for a, emergency landing on that planet." He said as he took a seat in the captain's chair.

"Sir?" Wells questioned him.

"We don't know where we are, or how to get out of here… There are a dozen or so vessels that are about to turn on us and fire, so I suggest we at least get somewhere we can fight."

Wells nodded. "Yes sir, preparing for emergency landing."

"Do we have any weapons online?" Wayne asked.

Wells turned to one of the other troopers who faced the Captain. "Sir, we have six Archer Rocket pods ready to fire." The troopers hand hovered over the ignition switch.

"Good, let em have it." Wayne smiled as the ship rumbled slightly. As explosions started to dot across the _Iliad's _shieldshe turned once more to Sgt. Wells.

"Emergency landing procedures initiated." She said calmly. We'll be groundside in T-minus three minutes."

"Excellent. Then we just have to go from there."

**Avatar World**

After several games and a few strange foods, Roland was getting tired of this place. All the noise, the crowds, it was way too easy for something to happen, and he didn't even have his armor. Still though, his M6C felt comforting, if not comfortable in the small of his back as Korra dragged him onward. Soon, they were near the docks, and Korra recognized her friends gathering as a large ship came into port.

As the two walked up, Korra's father Tonraq was muttering something about "The great chief of the Northern Water Tribe comes to grace us with his presence…" His tone was dripping with sarcasm.

His wife, Korra's mother held onto his arm. "Just relax Tonraq, he'll be gone soon enough." She reminded him.

Mako, Bolin, and Asami were also waiting to see the new ship into port. As the passengers disembarked, Korra recognized her cousins, Eska and Desna, the children of the chief of the Northern Water Tribe, her Uncle Unalaq.

The Water Tribe Chief approach the gaggle of individuals. "Good to see you again, Avatar Korra." Unalaq bowed deeply to the Avatar. His voice was deep and mellow, but seemed insidious in its own way. Roland's senses were on alert immediately.

Korra returned the bow "It is good to see you too."

Unalaq made eye contact with his brother. "Tonraq." He offered coldly.

Tonraq nodded his recognition. "Brother." His voice dripped with the ice he knew how to bend.

Unalaq looked around the festival solemnly. "It's a shame the Southerners have abandoned all connections to the spirits. Even during the most hallowed times."

Korra looked at him rather confused. "I've always loved the Glacier Spirits Festival. It's fun." She smiled as she saw Bolin attempting to eat an entire Artic Chicken.

"This festival used to be a solemn time of fasting and meditation." Unalaq looked at Bolin in disgust. "Now it's just a chance to watch some rube try to stick an entire arctic hen in his mouth."

Bolin stopped with half the chicken hanging out a mumbled. "Whtfh?" Before attempting to finish. "It is so good!" He exclaimed.

Tonraq shrugged. "Traditions change. It's not the end of the world." He reminded his brother.

Unalaq shook his head as a teacher would to a second grader who didn't understand an obvious problem. "Tell that to the sailors who are being attacked by angry spirits in southern waters. Some traditions have purpose."

Korra looked puzzled. "Spirits are attacking trading ships?" She asked.

"I'm surprised the Avatar doesn't know about that." Unalaq smirked "Apparently you haven't been given all of the information you need. It would be my honor to instruct you in the spiritual ways of the Water Tribe."

Korra thought for a moment before Tonraq interrupted. "The festival could have nothing to do with this. You know little of the dealing with the Spirits, anything could be troubling them."

Unalaq shook his head in disgust. "You, of all people try to lecture me about the Spirits? Even after what you have done?" Tonraq glanced down out of forced submission.

"Avatar, the Spirits are angry." Unalaq urged Korra. "You must find out how to calm them."

"Could it be something else?" Roland finally spoke. "Right, sorry, I'm Roland." He held out his hand to be ignored.

"Ah yes, the Avatar's mysterious lover." Korra bristled at the description. "Just what do you have to say about it?"

"Maybe it could be something bigger. I mean far bigger." Unalaq raised an eyebrow, but allowed the Spartan to continue. "What about worlds falling, millions of souls dying?"

"And how would you know any of this?" The chief huffed. "Rumor has it that you are not even a bender."

Roland shrugged. "I get that a lot." He glanced at one the chiefs children, but both of them had their mouth agape. "What?" He asked.

Unalaq glanced at his children. "What is the matter with you to?"

Roland realized they weren't looking at him, but past him. He turned and looking into the noonday sky to see a falling star approaching from the North.

"See!" Unalaq exclaimed. "The Spirits are angry!"

Roland shoved the man out of the way as he moved towards the hut he had stayed in. "No… those aren't Spirits."

**The Illiad**

"How the hell did they manage to take over one of my ships?" Captain Strecks slammed his fist into his counsel.

"Sir, our shield are nearly at ninety percent." Kyles said from her station "We can enter the atmosphere at any time."

"If any of that crew survived, I will shoot them myself." Strecks muttered. "Standby for battle stations. Prepare for a rough landing on a hostile planet. Prep all troops for disembark and defense. Carr, get ready for a prolonged operation here. If those troopers smash into the planet, they won't be leaving anytime soon."

"Yes sir." First Mate Carr smirked as he turned about. "Do you want your gear, sir?"

Strecks looked at the falling ship on the view screen in front of him and then back to his First Mate. "Indeed."

**Tampa, somewhere in the atmosphere **

Alarms blared throughout the deck as the ship neared the surface of the planet. "Sergeant, where will we land?" Captain Wayne shouted.

Wells looked over her shoulder. "I haven't done this before sir, I have no idea!"

"Great…" Wayne muttered under his breath. He glanced at the view screen before speaking into the helmet radio. "Helljumpers. Prepare for a hard landing in sixty seconds."

"OORAH!" A nearly unanimous shout echoed through the helmet system. The Helljumpers didn't care if the died on impact, they had escaped the insurrectionist grasp and given them a bloody nose in the process.

"Passing the equator now, sir." Wells shouted.

"Grylls, when we hit, link up at the starboard escape pod bay." Wayne passed to his senior NCO.

"Roger that sir, see you then." Grylls closed the link. He had his men holding whatever they could in the engine room. Some held onto support structures, other grasped the wall, but regardless, they all wanted to survive.

"Ten seconds, sir. Firing reverse thrusters." Wells depressed a button on her counsel.

Wayne saw snow start to show up on the view screen. "Five seconds."

The ODST Captain counted the remaining seconds in his head. The nose of the ship slammed into rock and ice before the rest of the ship slammed down to the deck. The entire ship skidded for several hundred meters before coming to rest on the edge of a glacier.

"Status?" Wayne barked into his helmet.

"Engine is good sir." Grylls replied. "We are already enroute to Aft Starboard escape pod bay."

"Roger, watch how you go." Wayne looked around the bridge.

"Bridge crew is good sir." Wells unclipped herself from her seat, ripped off her helmet, and vomited everywhere.

"Good thing it is just a rental." The Captain smiled "Saddle up gents, we need to move!"

**Well, I hoped you liked it. Sorry it took two weeks. Calculus two is kicking my butt. Read and Review and let me know what you think! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the delay. Still not my ideas. Hope you enjoy this chapter! **

**Chapter 3 **

**Southern Water Tribe**

Roland sprinted towards the igloo as fast as he could manage. The cold air burned his throat and lungs as we forced his way through the snow, but his core temperature was already rising dramatically under the layers of clothing. A bead of sweat broke on his exposed forehead and quickly turned to ice before the Spartan could wipe it away. As he trudged up the hill, he stripped away his outer layers of clothing.

"Roland!" Korra slid across the snow after him. The sky that had earlier been bright and sunny was darkening as a storm approached. "What is going on?" Korra shouted.

Roland didn't even look back. He made it to the top of the hill and started stripping down as he ran into the igloo he and Korra shared. In moments, he was down to his skivvies and was pulling his armor out of the corner. A thin frost covered the metal and it stung his hands when he pulled it off the undersuit, but it didn't slow him for a moment.

"Roland, would you please tell me what is happening?!" Korra pleaded when she finally made it in.

"That isn't a star." Roland spoke quickly as he slid his legs into the icy cold undersuit. He stood up and shoved his arms down the sleeves before zipping himself in. The suit immediately started to warm due to his body temperature. "That is a ship. It looked like it might be UNSC."

Korra just looked at him for a moment. "What do you mean?" She asked as Roland slid on his boots and started buckling his grey SPI armor into place. He had painted them grey over their original dull red to provide a more clandestine color in urban environments like Republic City, but the color would serve him well enough here in the tundra.

A dull vibration shook the ground snow below them, causing Roland to pause for a moment before he finished pressing his plates together. "That was a crash. If it was UNSC, we need to get there now and contain it."

Korra nodded and turned to leave. "I'll find us a way out there and get some people to help." She shook her head in a slightly irritated way as she left. "So much for a relaxing day." She sighed. Towards the coast, she could see a cloud of snow and debris about five miles away. Seeing this, she took off down the hill to find some help.

Roland slid his helmet into place over his head and started the boot up process. As the HUD loaded, he holstered his M6C suppressed pistol and attached his M7S suppressed submachine gun to the magnetic portion of his back plate. Finally, he hefted a SRS99D-S2 AM sniper rifle into his arms. The sniper rifle had a range of 2300 meters and could easily be used against both personal and armored vehicles using its 14.5x114mm APFSDS (Armor Piercing Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot) rounds. The optic on top would allow Roland to assess the area without having to get to close, which could prove fatal. The only downside was its limited magazine capacity of only four rounds. Roland had five additional magazine located on different parts of his armor.

With the sniper rifle over his shoulder, he stepped outside into the grey environment. The wind was whipping snow back and forth across the windswept ground, causing drifts to form against the igloos. The Spartan III looked around, and after a few moments, he saw a dozen snow mobiles coming towards him along with a polar bear dog. Korra lead the group up the hill atop Naga, with several others in tow. Mako, Bolin, and Asami all stayed on their machines along with Korra's father Tonraq and her uncle Unalaq. A few other water benders, friends of Tonraq's were also in the group, along with one very aristocratic water tribesman riding the only snow mobile with a side car. In the passenger seat, a very bored looking young woman sat underneath several large bags of equipment.

"Here Roland, get on!" Asami said as she got off her snowmobile and climbed on with Mako. Roland did so and looked to Korra.

"Who is he?" He asked, referring the man with the side car.

Korra rolled her eyes. "That's Varrick. He heard what was happening and insisted on coming along. He is a multimillionaire who has a taste for adventure."

Roland shrugged. It wasn't his problem is some rich guy wanted to tag along. "Where to!" He shouted over the howling wind. As he did so, he activated his UNSC friend or foe transponder. This would show up on friendly HUDs, showing him as a friend.

Korra pulled her hood a bit tighter. "Follow me!" she yelled as she nudged Naga on. Roland and the others gunned their engines and took off into the wailing snow storm.

**5.27 Miles from the Southern Water Tribe **

"ETA to the Starboard bay Gunny?" Capt. Wayne mumbled into his helmet. His men had the two entrances covered with all the firepower they could muster. "I have both doors locked down, and I don't want to waste you."

"Two minutes or less, sir." Grylls replied after a moment's pause. He sounded winded, and there was sporadic gunfire in the back ground. "We took a bit of contact going through the galley. Shouldn't take but a second though."

"Roger, hurry up." Wayne said as he closed the link. He paused a heartbeat before opening a comm channel to his ODST's. "Gunny Grylls and the engine team are coming in from the aft of the ship. Mark your targets."

A few murmurs of "Roger" were to only reply.

The next two minutes and thirty seven seconds seemed to be an eternity before the point man for Gunny Grylls team was spotted. "I got them, sir." One of the troopers shouted over his weapon.

As the ODST's rallied, Grylls quickly positioned the men to form security before linking up with the Captain. "Good job, Grylls." Wayne congratulated his Senior NCO. "Now we just need to get out of here."

Grylls nodded. "Any plan on that yet, sir?" He asked.

Wayne's shoulders slumped slightly "No… we crashed at the south pole. It won't exactly be easy to escape and evade out here." Grylls nodded solemnly. "We can't exactly fight against ships either…"

"Well, sir. We've come too far to stop now." The Gunnery Sergeant said. He walked to one of the escape pods and smashed a button on the console, firing the pod into the snow. "Stand by to disembark into cold weather." Grylls shouted. "Check your seals and prepare to move."

Each trooper quickly checked his HUD and the seals on his armor. While the suits weren't rated for atmosphere, they should still help with the cold. A moment later, Grylls pressed the button that opened the inner doors and the outer doors, giving the ODST's a way off the ship. "Everyone out. MOVE!" Grylls shouted.

The troopers started to collapse backwards out of the ship, always keeping their weapons trained on the exits. Slowly, one by one, they made their way out into the snowstorm. Captain Wayne clicked on his thermals to search for a position to move towards. A few hundred yards away, there was a small rock outcropping just below about one hundred feet of elevation. "There!" He shouted into the comm net as he placed a rally point for everyone to see. "We'll set up there and get a plan in motion for the reinforcements that are sure to be on our tails."

Without a word, the ODST's started trudging through the snow, hoping they could make it there in time.

**Former UNSC **_**Illiad **_**just outside the Avatar World Atmosphere **

"Sir, they crashed the _Tampa _near the South Pole." Kyles told Captain Streks without looking up from her console.

Streks clenched his fist out of irritation. He didn't want to land his fleet in the middle of a frozen tundra. "Send the _Greece _down to kill those ODST's if they haven't been killed already. As for the rest of the fleet, find a suitable landing site on the largest land mass and take us in.

Kyles nodded. "Understood sir, dispatching the _Greece _to the _Tampa's _crash site and redirecting the rest of the fleet."

**One thousand meters from the **_**Tampa's**_** crashsite **

The group that Korra had organized huddled atop a cliff overlooking the crashed ship. "It is so big…" Asami said in awe.

"I wonder what we can use it for?" Varrick muttered to himself.

Roland had his sniper rifle braced on one of the snowmobiles and was scanning the area below. He could see black dots making their way towards the lower areas of the cliffs. "I see something." He said to Korra without looking away from the scope. "It looks like about twenty five Marines moving away from the ship."

Korra squinted into the wind, but couldn't see a thing. "Why would they move away?" She asked.

Her question was answered by a dull roar as another massive ship flew over their heads, causing everyone to duck instinctively. Bay doors opened and smaller craft flew out and landed in the snow. The ODST's had just made it into comm range, so Roland sent a message their way. "Attention UNSC personnel, this is Spartan Alpha dash Too Fife Aight. Do you need assistance?"

Roland glanced at his HUD. Thirty IFF tags appeared ranging from Lance Corporal to a Captain. All of them were ODST's. A voice he hadn't heard before crackled into his radio. "Spartan, the is Captain Wayne of Bravo Company 2nd Shock Trooper Battalion. We were prisoners aboard that insurrectionist vessel. Other insurrectionists are in the area, including approximately ten ships in orbit. The troops on the ground are firing upon us."

Roland watched as the second ship land just off the bow of the crashed ship. "Roger sir, move towards my Rally point. I'll have an extract waiting, and I can cover you from here." Roland posted a rally point on his HUD and using the thermals on the rifle, sighted in on one of the insurrectionists firing upon the ODST's. His rifle said the target was 800 meters away, mere child's play with a rifle such as this.

His rifle boomed across the tundra, making the group with him jump out of fright. Roland watched as a large hot cloud of blood and bone poofed up from the dead insurrectionist. "Roland. What's happening!" Korra shouted.

"There are thirty ODST's in contact below us." Roland's rifle boomed a second time, causing another insurrectionist to fall. "I need you to move to those rocks below us to help get those troopers to safety."

Korra nodded as Roland rifle boomed a third time. "What will we do from there?" She asked.

Roland shrugged. "We need some way to extract forty people… I have no idea." His rifle boomed again as the Spartan flawlessly ejected the spent magazine and seated a new one into the chamber.

"I might just have a solution!" Varrick shouted from the back ground.

"And what might that be?" Roland asked dryly.

"Why my yacht of course!" He exclaimed. "I had it built to be the fasts on the seas." He nudged Korra "it can even outrun a waterbender."

"Great…" Roland's rifle echoed with a miss. He grunted and fired again, striking the insurrectionist in the abdomen. "That doesn't do me much good if it's not here, does it?" Roland saw an insurrectionist hefting a SPNKr rocket at 726 meters away. Instead of aiming at the man, Roland hit the launcher, rendering it ineffective and causing the man to drop it in fright.

Varrick smiled under his hood as he turned to his assistant. "Zhu Li, do the thing!" He shouted as he raised his hand into the air.

"Yes sir." She said flatly. Her glasses were fogged under the winter clothing, but she still managed to remove a small radio device and activate it.

"That my friends just activated my yacht. You never know when you'll need to make a quick getaway!"

"Good." Roland drilled the man who dropped the rocket and reload again. "Take some of the water benders and get to the coast. Link up with your yacht and wait for us there."

"Will do! Zhu Li, back to the snowmobile!" Varrick shouted.

"Yes sir." Zhu Li replied as she dutifully climbed into the side car.

"Korra, you need to go get those guys up here." Roland reminded her. "I am down the fourteen shots."

"We're going!" Korra shouted as they took off.

Roland watched as the group took off down a shallow portion of the cliff. "Cap'n, how's it going?" He asked.

Wayne replied instantly. "We've got people coming down from the high ground in front of us. Is that you?"

"Yes sir, you have about fifteen more insurrectionist right behind you." Roland held center mass on a man and fired. "Make that fourteen. Listen, sir. What you are about to see when you get to my friends will be shocking to you, but I need you to trust me if you want to survive."

"Roger that, Spartan. I trust you." Roland could see that the ODST's had just made it to Korra. She and the other water benders threw up a massive ice shield between themselves and the insurrectionists. "Is this what you were talking about?" Wayne asked.

"Yes sir, just trust me." Roland said again as he inserted his second to last magazine. He saw everyone crouched under the protective shield as the water benders, in unison, caused the snow and ice under them to start lift up the slope like a giant escalator. The insurrectionists were only about six hundred meters away from Roland now, so he fired off his remaining shots as fast as he accurately could. He clipped the sniper rifle to the snow mobile and started it. Revving the engine, he took off towards where the group would appear at the top of the cliff. Seconds before he reached it, he saw the group appear as if out of nowhere. He braked his machine and jumped off. "Are all your people up, sir?" Roland asked.

Captain Wayne looked around for a moment. "Yes, they are all here."

Roland nodded. "Good, we have a vessel that is meeting us on the coast. We need to pile your guys on and get moving."

"What about that other ship?" Grylls asked.

Roland paused for a moment. It was a valid point, they couldn't exactly outrun a frigate. "I also want some answers about everything that is happening around here." Captain Wayne said.

"Sir, we need to get moving. I promise everything will make sense soon enough, but you have to keep trusting me. Right now, I need your best tech and two of your best men."

"I don't know what you're planning Spartan, but you've gotten us this far." Wayne turned around. Grylls, you'll take everyone to extract. Sergeant Wells, you and Corporal Conway are on me."

Korra ran up to Roland. "What are you planning?" She asked.

"We need to destroy that ship, and I know how to do it."

Korra looked into his visor. "I'm coming with you." She said confidently.

Roland could only shrug. "I figured as much. Tonraq, I need you and two of your water benders, the rest of you, start moving toward extract!" Roland shouted as he climbed onto his snowmobile. "Korra, send Naga with them, it is too dangerous."

Korra nodded as she climbed onto the snowmobile. Tonraq and each of the water benders had an ODST on the back of their snow mobile as well. "What is your plan Roland?" Tonraq shouted.

"We are going to destroy the ship with another ship!" Roland yelled back.

"We're gonna what?" Korra shouted.

Roland gunned the engine. "You heard me!" And with that, the four snow mobiles took off for the crashed _Tampa. _Roland had the throttle up as fast as it would go, but it still didn't seem fast enough as soon as they started to take fire. More insurrectionist reinforcements had started coming out of the _Greece _and were moving to intercept them.

"Korra, I need you to hide us from them!" Roland shouted. Korra sent a huge blast of air into the snow near them, cause a whiteout, and allowing the snow mobiles to get to the _Tampa _intact.

"Sir, where did you exit?" Roland asked.

A waypoint appeared on Roland's HUD. "Right there!" Captain Wayne replied.

Roland steered for the open escape pod door. He pulled the snowmobile to a stop just in front of it and jumped off. Moments later, everyone was off and ready to move. "Korra, I need these hidden." Roland said as he moved inside the ship.

Within in a few seconds, the eight of them were on board and moving. "Which way to the bridge, sir?" Roland asked.

"This way." Captain Wayne took paint with his rifle up. "Just what exactly are you planning, Spartan?" He asked again.

Roland flowed along the far wall with his M7S in front of him. "We're going to fire a MAC round into that ship."

Wayne simple looked at the grey armored Spartan across from him. "And they say we're nuts…" He mumbled.

The group made it to the bridge without an incident. "Conway and you two, watch the door." Roland pointed to the ODST and the two water benders.

"Wells, I need you to activate the MAC cannon aboard this ship." Captain Wayne told his sergeant.

Wells nodded and she started punching away at a console. At the same time, Roland pulled and auxiliary cable from his wrist and plugged it into the captain's chair. "Alright, I have a firing solution." He said a moment later. "We'll hit the bow of their ship, it might not destroy it, but it will definitely put it out of commission."

"Contact!" Corporal Conway shouted as he fired down the hallway. Captain Wayne ran to the door and also started putting round down range.

"MAC at seventy percent." Wells said from her console. "It will take about thirty second for it to be at ninety percent and ready to fire."

Roland nodded and stood by. By this time, Korra had started launching fire down the hallway. Conway and Wayne both looked at her with a mixed look of caution and awe before the continued firing.

"Roland, we need to go…" Tonraq reminded the Spartan.

"Eighty nine… Ninety!" Wells shouted. "Firing solution input. On you Spartan."

"Fire." Roland said as he unplugged himself. The deck of the ship vibrated as the Magnetically Accelerated Slug blasted from the ships cannon. It tore through the _Greece's _hull and crippled her with one shot.

"Good hit!" Wells cried.

"Good, let's go!" Roland said as he hefted his M7S and took point. Tonraq and the water benders provided ice shields while the ODST's and Roland fired around them at the insurrectionists. The group moved in two columns while Korra occasionally cut loose with a blast of fire or air to knock the insurrectionists out of cover so the others could engage.

Everything was going fine until one insurrectionist round skipped off a bulkhead and directly into the skull of one of the water benders in Korra's column. He and his ice shield dropped to the floor with a thud. Korra quickly threw up another shield, but not before two rounds made their way past, striking Sergeant Wells in the breast plate and the shoulder.

"He's dead!" Tonraq shouted over the gunfire in reference to his fallen man.

Wells lifted herself back up and chicken winged her rifle. "I'm good!"

"We need to move!" Captain Wayne shouted. Leaving the fallen man was no one's ideal situation, but they had to get out.

After a few more feet, Wells shouted "Six o clock!" And cut loose with a burst to their rear. Roland and Conway also fired back at the insurrectionists who had flanked through another corridor.

Roland tossed a frag grenade back the way they had gone and rushed everyone forward. "GO!" He shouted as the grenade detonated. Finally, they made it to the exit. Korra was out first, providing a shield incase other insurrectionists were out there, however, there were none. Tonraq quickly unburied the snowmobiles and everyone quickly jumped on.

Just before he could get on behind Korra, Corporal Conway was struck in the thigh and the lower back from an insurrectionist who made it out the escape pod tube. Roland fired a sustained burst, dropping the man, and Tonraq piled snow against the exit. "I'm alright!" Conway shouted as he laid across the back of the snowmobile. For the fourth time that day, Roland gunned the engine and took off. A huge blast reverberated behind him, and he saw snow and ice kicking up from where an escape pod had just landed after being fired. "Go! Go!" Roland shouted into his helmet, and the four snowmobiles took off towards the coast and their extraction.

"Conway, Wells, you alright?" Wayne asked through their helmet comms.

"I'm fine sir." Wells replied quickly.

After a moment's pause Captain Wayne tried Conway again. "Conway, you alright?" There was no response.

Roland drove alongside Korra to see Conway slumped against her. Finally he came on the net. "It's not good, sir." He moaned. Roland could see red snow on the back of the machine.

Roland tried to crank the throttle again to go faster, but it didn't seem to move. "Hold on trooper, extract is only a mile away!" He shouted.

**Well, as requested, it is a bit longer than the last chapter and we finally have some fighting! I enjoyed writing Roland in as a sniper, cause it was always one of my favorite things to do in Halo. Sorry it took so long, I was at drill freezing my balls off in a lake and not sleeping. Thankfully I made it back without hypothermia, but it was pretty cold. Hope you enjoy this chapter and please Review! Thanks to a Guest for the idea of using a MAC gun. While it isn't quite what you asked for, I thought it was a great idea! If you leave your name in the reviews, I can actually give you credit. Also, 15delgizzij, thank you for understand what a LCID is! Now the true question is, can anyone guess where I got that from? **


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the delay, life has been rather busy with school and whatnot. As usual, this is not mine.**

**Chapter 4 **

**Former UNSC Illiad **

Streks stood aboard the bridge of the Halcyon Class Light Cruiser. The transmission from the Stalwart Class Frigate, _Greece _had been lost moments before and all Streks could do was stare at the monitor. "Please… Please tell me they did not just take out ANOTHER of my frigates!" Streks screamed as he smashed his fist into the arm of his chair.

"Sir, we still have communication with some of the troops on the ground." Electronics officer Jordan Kyles reminded him. "It seems they have breached and secured the _Tampa_, but she is beyond repair."

Streks nodded gravely as Kyles uploaded an image. "This is odd..." she trailed off.

The captain stood and moved over to her console. "What is it?" He squinted at the snow blurred image.

"The troops on the ground took sniper fire directly after landing from the high ground." Kyles zoomed in on one of the images. "The radio calls claimed the ODST's had help, and that water and ice were being thrown at them."

At this, Streks couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Thrown at them? I know it was a heavy storm, but thrown?"

Kyles looked over her shoulder at the Captain "That's what they said, sir. Some of the men had severe burn marks as if they were hit with a flame thrower."

Streks walked back to his seat. "Odd… We will investigate later though. Those ODST's aren't going anywhere after destroying those ships, and we need to set up a base of operations."

"Yes sir."

A moment passed before another voice piped in. "Sir, I may have a location for you." navigations officer Ngyen brought up an image on the main screen. "This is a small city on the largest land mass on the planet." He zoomed in more. "There doesn't seem to be any military presence, and only minor police forces."

Streks nodded. "What is the nearest populated area?"

Ngyen paused as he shifted his cameras. "An island off the coast has a village, nothing else for miles around."

"Very well." Streks stood and turned to his first mate. "Prepare the men for landing. Assume everyone is hostile. I don't know what this water and ice thing is, but be prepared for anything."

"How many do you want going?" Carr asked.

"Send half the fleet back into orbit. We will stand by for gun support, and will send a few missiles their way to shake things up. Take some men from here and rendezvous with the others on the ground."

Carr nodded. "So about three hundred men?"

Streks shook his head. "This is our foothold on this planet. I want you to take the entire offensive detachment from three frigates. That, along with our own should be over five hundred. Set up shop and stand by for word."

Carr nodded. "It'll be over before it's begun."

**City of Chin, along the Earth Kingdom Coast**

Jin Li had lived in the City of Chin for the entire fifteen years of her life. The city had a rich history dating back to Avatar Kyoshi separating a portion of the land along the coast to form an island in her name sake, in the process, killing a mad Earth King whose intent was to conquer the world.

More recently, Avatar Aang had visited Chin during his exploits. At the time, the city celebrated Avatar day by setting fire to giant statues of past Avatars and generally wishing the Avatar was no longer in existence. During one of the celebrations, Aang came forward to stand trial for so called 'crimes' he had committed in his past life. Just as he had been declared guilty and was to be boiled in oil, a fire nation raid commenced. The judge changed his sentence to community service and demanded that Aang save the city, which he did swiftly and with ease.

To this day, once a year, the city celebrated Avatar day by eating unfried dough, due to the fact that the Avatar was not boiled in oil. In the past years, the city had grown immensely, and had become quite a good sized town. Crime was rare and the police force was competent, it had all the makings of a great new metropolis, and Jin Li didn't have any plans of moving elsewhere.

As she enjoyed her unfried dough with a few of her friends, she happened to glance at the clouds. It had been one of her favorite pastimes as a child, and she smirked at a cloud that looked like a flying fish. Just before she turned back to the conversation, a small cylinder trailing white smoke punched through the tail of the fish.

"What is that?" Jin Li asked her friends. All of them looked on as several more identical cylinders punched through the clouds and fell towards the city. The first object seemed to be heading for the police department a block away. Jin Li watched as the object smashed into the front steps, and a microsecond later, erupted into a massive fireball.

The shockwave knocked Jin Li and her friends to the ground. Before she could recover, she heard screams and more explosions echoing down the streets. A dull roar filled her ears, and looking upwards, she saw the biggest object that she had ever laid eyes on. A massive ship hovered a few hundred feet in the air. Bay doors opened and smaller ships flew out like fleas jumping off a dog. One of the ships set down in the street twenty yards away from her. A door opened and masked men ran out carrying grey objects. Their boots clacked across the ground and the men formed a perimeter.

Jin Li saw her cousin Shin, a police officer for two years, shouting at the masked men. When they didn't comply, Shin started earth bending to restrain them. The men hesitated at first, but one of them raised what was in his hands and a loud crack echoed in Jin Li's ears. She saw her cousin fall, dark red blood staining his crisp uniform while a small wisp of smoke fluttered out of the object.

The men didn't pause to look at her, but instead started moving off down a street. Jin Li stood there to shocked to do anything, but one of her friends grabbed her hand and snapped her out of it. They took off for the edge of town with the loud cracking coming from all over the area.

The two girls made it a few blocks before one of the masked men stepped out in front of them. Jin Li ran full speed into the man, knocking him off balance slightly, but sending her to the ground with the wind knocked from her chest. The man shouldered his object and it cracked three times, leaving Jin Li's friend, Sigi, sprawled out on the street.

Jin Li could barely breathe as the man turned his attention to her. She could hear strange sounding voices that seemed to be coming from the mask he had on his head. The words sounded strangely familiar, but a rushing sound and a scream drowned them out. The man gripped the object in his hands with white knuckles. This confused Jin Li greatly, because the look in his eyes was the same as what was in hers, near paralyzing fear of the other person. What she would never know is that the man standing over her, an insurrectionist soldier, was just as scared of her, thinking that everyone on this planet could bend the elements.

The two remained there with eyes locked for a few seconds, before Jin Li finally breathed a good breath of air. She moved her hand from her chest and saw a flash of light and felt as if a hammer had struck her chest. Once again her ears were ringing and now her entire body seemed too weak to even lift her head off the ground. She could see blood staining her shirt, and with her next breath, she had the strong desire to cough. When she did so, foamy blood ran down her cheek. The man looked her over once more before he moved out of her sight. Jin Li laid there for a moment more, contemplating what had happened. Her precious city had been invaded, and she was dying, though from what bending or magic, she didn't know. Another breath, this one nearly impossible followed by more blood, and an urge to sleep. Jin Li felt as if the wind had been knocked out her once more as she finally exhaled her last breath and slipped into an eternal sleep.

**Former UNSC Illiad **

Streks listened, but couldn't believe his ears. "They just made a rock wall appear from the dust!" "I just lost two men to a boulder that fell from the sky." "All of them are hostile! They can control the earth!"

Gunfire spat all across the city. Even with the opening volley of missiles, and the shock and awe tactics, the people still fought back, however it didn't last long. Within an hour the city was secure enough to start bringing down supplies and support personnel. Troops were moving through the building capturing or killing whoever they could.

Streks had already decided to set up a full safe area inside of the city. It wasn't much, and there were definitely larger metropolises, but this would be easy to defend. Plus, the expansive green space gave him an area to put down his ships if needed. Landing Frigates in atmosphere was not ideal, but it would definitely save him some resources and be an impressive show of force.

Streks stepped off a shuttle and set foot for the first time on this strange planet. Now all he needed to do was get in touch with this planets leaders. He had no desire to destroy everyone on the planet, nor did he have the forces to do much other than hold a small town, but he wanted it clear that he was in control and wouldn't attack unless provoked. This was all a lie of course, but he wanted them to initially believe what he said. Maybe he could trade some technology to convince them of his sincerity… Either way, he knew he needed to act fast.

Looking to Carr he spoke. "Get me a platoon and some 'hogs."

**Varrick's Yacht, headed towards the Southern Water Tribe **

"WHAT WAS THAT!" Bolin shouted at the top of his lungs from the quarterdeck. "A ship, not just a small ship, but a freakin building just fell from the sky!"

Mako put a restraining hand on his brother's shoulder. "Bo, I think you need to chill."

"It was massive! Then the small ships, and the guns! Roland they have guns!" Bolin dropped to his knees "What are we going to do about guns?" he halfway sobbed with his hands on the floor.

Mako just shook his head. This was normal behavior for Bolin… well, at least the over reacting part. Roland shrugged. "We fight."

Korra smirked "Heck yeah we fight!" She punched her fist in front of her. "Did you see what we did back there? They don't stand a chance against the Avatar!"

"Korra, you do realize they have ships that can fly, right?" Bolin asked.

"Meh, we'll just have to fight them on our turf! They have no way to know who's a bender and who isn't, plus it's not like they are all copies of Roland, they just normal people with guns."

Captain Wayne caught Roland's eye. "You still haven't exactly explained what's going on Spartan."

Roland nodded. "Well sir, I have been here for quite some time…" Roland proceeded to explain his arrival and the events that had taken place. He even referenced the Covenant ship that had crashed carrying Jorge, and explained how the Earth Kingdom has assisted in hiding that from the public, but with this new arrival, it would be impossible to keep things suppressed.

Captain Wayne had listened intently and he finally spoke. "Well, we have no idea where they are or what they are doing, but thank you for the assist Roland. We would be dead without your help."

Roland nodded gravely. "I am sorry we could get back in time to save Conway." The corporal had died only a few hundred meters from the waiting ship. His armor and weapons had been removed and a pair of the water benders had frozen him below decks to be buried in the future.

"Well, let's make sure his death was not in vain." Wayne walked towards the Varrick at the helm. "So where are we headed?"

Varrick looked over his shoulder and grinned. "To Republic City my friend! I have several contact and places where I can keep you safe until we determine our next move."

Wayne clapped Varrick on the shoulder. "Thank you my friend, I owe you."

"What about General Iroh?" Korra asked. "We could get his help to hide everyone safely."

Roland nodded. "I have some good friends who serve with him, it would be one of our safest bets."

Varrick looked at one of the charts. "Very well then, to the Naval Base it is!" The entire ship lurched to the side, knocking everyone slightly off balance as Varrick adjusted his course. No one could ever say the man lacked intensity or drive.

"Zhu Li! It is tea time!" Varrick shouted, and his personal assistant appeared out of nowhere with a full pot of steaming tea and a glass.

"I am sure it will take us a while to arrive." Captain Wayne said. "I'm going to go check on my men and get some rest."

Roland nodded. "You know where to find us."

**Meanwhile on another ship in the ocean **

"Sir, we have confirmed reports that the space traveling ships have landed in the Earth Kingdom, just along the coast near Kyoshi Island." A Northern Water Tribe soldier stood at parade rest before Chief Unalaq.

"Interesting… very interesting." Unalaq thought briefly. If he couldn't get to the Avatar to open the portals one way, maybe he could influence her in another. "Set course for Kyoshi Island. Let's see if we can't go talk to our new arrivals."

**Sorry this was rather brief, but I figured it had been too long since I last updated. I promise I won't abandon this! Please let me know what you think!**


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